As UTA’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, Tare will develop programs on recycling and waste reduction, water conservation, education and outreach, transportation, green purchasing, curriculum development, community garden, composting and green teams. Also, she will be responsible for establishing a regional center to increase collaboration among groups in North Texas, a first for the region. Another first is bringing higher education, governmental units and municipalities, and private corporations together to collaborate on sustainable initiatives.

“We want to increase UTA’s collaboration with other organizations and drive UTA’s mission to go green.”

In her former UTA roles, she established several environmentally responsible initiatives, including establishing a bike-sharing program, a community garden and a campus composting program. Last year, she won the prestigious Excellence in Sustainability Award from the National Association of College and University Business Officers, which recognizes various areas of institutional success. UTA earned the coveted award out of three universities.

Additionally, she spearheaded several sustainability projects related to policy implementation, buildings and development, green procurement, transportation, employee engagement, waste management, GRI reporting and carbon management. A TEDx UTA speaker, she was also featured on TriplePundit’s Women in Corporate Social Responsibility list.

“We have submitted the application and are waiting to hear for the approval, which will happen in a few weeks,” she said.

Plans for 2019 are to establish an advisory council.

“We will always raise the bar and constantly strive to make steady improvements to our sustainability contributions. The responsibility of a CSO rides on implementing the vision, values and strategy in a way that communicates that we care. Blending those values with our unique goals and ambitions can be very motivating and effective. For me, leadership at UTA lives at the intersection of that spark and our values.”

Author

Minnie Payne

Minnie Payne is a frequent contributor to GreenSourceDFW.org. She’s written for Pegasus News, Speakeasy, The Senior Voice, and served as copyeditor for DERMASCOPE Magazine. She presently freelances for Frisco STYLE Magazine, Living Magazine, PinPointe Magazine and Texasliving Magazine. She can be reached at jdpmap77@gmail.com.

Comments (1)

Congratulations to Meghna Tare! This is great that UTA now has a Chief Sustainability Officer. Do you know if the university has, or will establish, a greenhouse gas emissions baseline and reduction plan?

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